2025
MOVER & SHAKER OF THE YEAR
KEITH YUNGER
President, Sea Ray Boats
By Boating Industry staff
The 15th Annual Boating Industry Movers & Shakers awards honor visionary leaders and trailblazers throughout the recreational boating industry who consistently embrace change and drive progress.
The 2025 Mover & Shaker of the Year and Finalists exemplify resilience in the face of industry challenges, while advancing innovation through their leadership, commitment, and influence both within their organizations and across the industry.
MOVER & SHAKER OF THE YEAR
KEITH YUNGER
President, Sea Ray Boats
For Keith Yunger, president of Sea Ray Boats, the story of his career began long before he ever stepped into an office or a factory floor. It began in the cockpit of boats that his father was helping build and improve.
His dad worked for the founder of Sea Ray, C. N. Ray, as vice president and general manager of the company, and often brought home new models for his family to test. Yunger’ s childhood was spent not only enjoying the water but also watching how products came to life.
“ We’ d always be the test family using the product,” Yunger said.“ Back in the day, before laptops, my dad always had a yellow legal pad and a pencil on the water and he would take notes while we were out there overnighting on the product. He’ d come back with what worked and what didn’ t work.”
The lessons went beyond product design. Growing up exposed to Sea Ray dealer meetings, Yunger learned the importance of relationships in business at a young age too.
“ They used to have meetings in town and then we’ d do barbeques and entertainment at the house,” Yunger remembered.“ So that was a way for me, when I was eight years old all the way up to high school, to be around those dealers, learn how relationships were built and the importance of that.”
Those lessons would become foundational when Yunger graduated college and officially entered the industry. Over the years, he took on a variety of roles in sales, customer service, marketing, portfolio management and strategy.
“ That started shaping a lot of my thinking around the voice of the customer,” Yunger said.“ How do we have customer centric solutions versus‘ let’ s build what we like?’ The way I used to describe it to team members and dealers: If we build what you like, we’ re a museum. If we build what the market likes, we’ re a retailer. And we can actually move volume out there and put a lot of people on the water.”
Yunger has nearly 40 years in the marine industry, 20 of them with Brunswick. Before taking the helm at
6 september / october 2025 www. boatingindustry. com